CEO-Impact-Ranking: Oliver Blume (Volkswagen / Porsche) still in top position after second quarter

After the second quarter of 2023 concludes, Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen and Porsche AG, manages to secure the top position in the DAX CEO-Impact-Ranking again. Published by Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung the analysis of media intelligence company UNICEPTA examines the media impact of all executives of DAX40 corporations. For measuring the media impact, the analysts developed a reach-based index score which is based on the weighting factors reception probability, focus and tonality.

Blume continuously holds the top position of the ranking since his appointment as VW CEO. Due to his dual role as CEO of not one but two DAX companies he consistently enjoys a high level of media attention. In the second quarter of 2023, the main focus was on the announcement that VW intends to reorganize its core brand. Süddeutsche Zeitung emphasizes that Blume has used the time since taking office “to take a very close look at the individual divisions. He obviously didn’t like what he found in some areas. Following the replacement of the management board at the Cariad software division, there are also to be changes at the core VW brand. The company must make savings in order to increase its return on investment. Billions are at stake.” Investments in China and the presence in the Chinese province of Xinjiang are also being discussed in the media, and the Annual General Meeting was accompanied by protests from Uyghurs. The Handelsblatt reports that the automaker also sees a ”reputational risk” here and investors are demanding an independent audit. “We are planning a transparent, independent external audit to give the public full transparency,” Oliver Blume is quoted as saying in the Handelsblatt. Oliver Blume’s dual role at Porsche’s annual shareholders’ meeting was viewed quite critically. Shareholders demanded that Blume should decide “where he is more urgently needed,” according to Die Welt.
 

Christian Sewing moves up to second place, Armin Papperger jumps to third place

Christian Sewing (Deutsche Bank) is ranked second in the CEO-Impact-Ranking, thus moving up one place compared to the first quarter. “Our strategy is working, Deutsche Bank is on track,” Sewing was quoted as saying on the occasion of the presentation of the quarterly figures to ntv. In the second half of the year, the Deutsche Bank chairman expects a recovery in bond trading. At the same time, he sees the central banks continuing to be challenged in the fight against high inflation. Sewing, who is also President of the Association of German Banks (BdB), told The Pioneer: ”It would be a grave mistake to let up in any way now.”

Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, made a major leap forward. The armaments group, which was promoted to the DAX on March 20, 2023, has moved rapidly into the public spotlight since the start of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. “Before the Russian war in Ukraine, the defense group’s stock was bobbing along at 90 euros; today it stands at around 276 euros. Competitors are watching the head of the company with around 25,000 employees with suspicion. Papperger knows how to boost his own business with a lot of self-promotion,” is how the Süddeutsche Zeitung sums up the development. Rheinmetall’s good economic performance comes under public scrutiny in the course of the AGM. In addition, Papperger’s business acumen is emphasized – be it with regard to the strategic cooperation with the Ukrainian state-owned group Ukroboronprom or the activities of the armaments group as a supplier of components for heat pumps. Here, the Group has received a major order for the manufacture of refrigerant compressors.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz focus on e-mobility and luxury segment

Fourth place in the new CEO-Impact-Ranking goes to Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, followed by Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury in fifth place.

The Stuttgart-based carmaker had announced its intention to focus fully on the luxury segment in order to boost sales and profitability. Källenius is quoted in the Tagesanzeiger as saying that the segment is also “more resilient and crisis-proof.” In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, the Mercedes CEO clarified: “The digital components are revolutionary, the automobile is becoming an entertainment center, the interior a feel-good space. We now develop and think of new models from the inside out. It used to be the other way around.” In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the top manager emphasizes that this is also being combined with greater sustainability.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury becomes visible in the media, especially in the course of the Paris Air Show. The announcement that the Indian low-cost airline IndiGo had placed a firm order for 500 medium-haul A320s was hailed as a sensation. This is “the largest order in the history of aviation for a single aircraft type,” the Airbus boss is quoted as saying in Le Monde. At the same time, Handelsblatt addresses the difficulties of processing the numerous orders. ”Aircraft manufacturers and suppliers are suffering from bottlenecks in components, raw materials and labor.” The gap between supply and demand will “persist for years to come,” according to Airbus CEO Faury.

The other positions in the top 10 ranking: Martin Brudermüller (BASF, sixth place), Christian Klein (SAP, seventh place), Oliver Zipse (BMW, eighth place), Werner Baumann (Bayer – until May 31, 2023, ninth place) and Bjørn Gulden (Adidas, tenth place).

For the CEO-Impact-Ranking in the second quarter of 2023, UNICEPTA evaluated around 3,289 articles from German and international print and online sources published from April to June 2023. The ranking is based on results from UNICEPTA’s ”DAX Benchmark”. With this, the media intelligence provider continuously records the media presence of all DAX companies and their CEOs as well as the reception probability, focus and tonality of media coverage.